Rose Hill  LbNA # 9200 (ARCHIVED)

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Rose Hill

Rose Hill

Note: "Wildlife Management Area" is a euphemism for Hunting Zone. These areas are not safe for letterboxing during hunting season from Monday through Saturday. We do not recommend letterboxing here even on Sundays during the hunting season. This is not a multi-use area and hunters are not welcoming of hikers, bikers, birders, or boxers during their season.
CT Hunting Regulations
CT Hunting Season Specifics
Generally, Sept 15th through Jan 31st.
CT Firearms Safety Program
In Memorium, Conservation Officer James Spignesi

Here is a single letterbox on a pleasant upland hike on the Pequot Trail in the Rose Hill Wildlife Management Area in Ledyard CT. Several other letterboxes are quite close by. Typical of many of Connecticut's Wildlife Management Areas, Rose Hill was once a working farm and is laced with old fieldstone walls and "nooning trees," giants that were left standing for a shady place to lunch and nap on a summer's day. These three or four hundred acre open spaces were made possible by the fees and foresight of the conservationists in the hunting community. Wear a blaze orange sweatshirt from September to May.

Directions: From I-395 take Exit 79A and head east across the Thames River on CT Rte. 2A past the Mohegan Indian Reservation. At the traffic light, zigzag left and right with 2A and follow it along scenic Poquetanuck Cove. Bear right on Rte. 117 South at a beautiful white church, just before Rte. 2A cuts left at a traffic light. Just after an intersection, at the Ledyard town line, turn left into the Preston Community Park and park near the ball fields.

Difficulty: An easy 2 miles out-and-back up a gentle grade: about 60 minutes.

The Hike: From the parking area, walk around the fields on the track and pick up the blue-blazed Pequot Trail behind the flagpole and amphitheater stage on the east-southeast edge of the park. Follow the trail right (south-southwest) into dense White Pine and walk gently uphill to Rose Hill Rd at an old farmhouse. Zigzag left right with the blue blazes across the road and follow the path south-southwest along the property line behind the house and barns. After an abandoned cinderblock barn, pass an enormous White Oak on the right.

Follow the trail generally south for about a mile, gently rising along the way. Cross several seasonal brooks and a wetland, passing through a transitional forest zone of American Beech and Chestnut, to finally turn southeast and climb to the top of Rose Hill, with the sound of traffic below on Shewville Rd to your right.

At the highest point, turn right (southwest) and beat a short way off trail to a stone wall. Follow it a short way left (southeast) to a "T" intersection with another wall and hop over. The Rose Hill Letterbox is in the southwest corner of this stony junction. If you'd like, bushwhack a short way farther down to the southwest edge of the drop off and limited views across to more farmland. If you miss the letterbox, you'll know you've gone too far on the Pequot Trail if you pass through a well-made stone wall and come upon an actively farmed field.

After stamping in, simply return the way you came. There are several interconnecting, unmarked trails that are worth exploring if you're in the mood.